U.S. District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman ruled that the Michigan Marriage Amendment -- which denied recognition of gay marriages performed in- and out-of-state -- violated the constitutional right to equal protection of the laws, reports The Associated Press.

Though Michigan's attorney general requested an emergency stay, at least three county clerks' offices said they planned to issue marriage licenses to gay couples today; in fact, the state's first same-sex marriage took place just after 8 a.m. in Ingham County, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Judge Finds Equal Protection Violation

In the last four months, federal courts in several states have struck down those states' gay marriage bans as unconstitutional: Utah in December, Oklahoma in January, and Virginia and Texas in February, just to name a few.

In many of the states affected by similar federal cases, judges have stayed their rulings, preventing gay marriages from beginning and allowing for the state to appeal. However, an automatic stay was not part of Judge Friedman's ruling Friday.

That's why one Michigan county clerk told the Free Press his office would begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses today. "As far as we're concerned, we're abiding by the federal court appellates," Washtenaw County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum said. "I know there's going to be attempts to get a stay, but I'm assuming there won't be one by [Saturday]. If there is, then I'll stop."

Just 10 minutes after Judge Friedman's ruling was released, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay, the Free Press reports. But as of Saturday morning, a stay had not yet been issued.

With same-sex nuptials already underway, Michigan becomes the 18th U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage, according to the Free Press.

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